Essex receives $100K grant to update zoning law

ESSEX | Last month, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) awarded the town a $100,000 Smart Growth Grant to facilitate a near-future update of its zoning law. While a portion of the grant will go to the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board for administrative costs, the remainder will be used to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to hire a planning professional to help lead the conversation with a local committee the town plans to assemble. "All that will probably come together in late August, and I hope that September is when we will begin in earnest to get this done," said Town of Essex Supervisor Ken Hughes. "I don't know how long that process will take exactly, but I'm assuming it will take about a year or two for the zoning law to be completely finished and edited." The zoning law got its last major revision in 2015, and in 2023, Essex made a minor revision due to population growth in the town during COVID-19. "We have a very intense zoning law, a little over 100 pages long. It's pretty strict, [but] that's because we're trying to protect the historic preservation and character in our hamlet," said Hughes. The Essex Village Historic District, which features over 100 largely preserved Federal, Greek Revival, and Victorian buildings, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. "In order to maintain that designation, we need to make sure that a certain percentage of our contributing structures are preserved properly, but I would like to make it a little bit easier for town officials and the public to accomplish what they need to accomplish." For example, in Essex, property owners in the historic district must consult the local zoning and planning board for any exterior modification that is visible from a public right-of-way. This applies to everything from significant changes, such as altering facades, roofs, or windows, to more common modifications, such as updating a porch railing or changing gutters. "That seems a bit excessive," Hughes admitted. "I think that some of those minor decisions can be left up to our zoning officer without them having to go to the planning board. I think our current zoning officer [Greg Gordon] is capable, now and in the future, of making solid, professional decisions about what could or couldn't happen with some of the smaller projects like that, thus saving the applicant time and money." During this process, the town will host a public comment period and hold public hearings to gather feedback, ensuring that the newest version of the zoning law meets the needs and goals of the people, said Hughes. "The document is currently imperfect because it's been about 10 years since we went through the last major revision. This is an opportunity now for Essex citizens to get involved in the process." Hughes continued on to say that revising the zoning law will also help with the town's Comprehensive Plan. The last Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2002. After requesting assistance from LaBella Associates and Clothier Planning & Consulting, the town established a Comprehensive Plan Committee (CPC) in October 2024 — composed of residents, property owners, local business representatives, and municipal leaders — to guide the updated process. Since then, the CPC and town have been working diligently to collect community input through surveys, interviews, community visioning workshops, and a public hearing, the latest of which was held in February. Now the CPC is working to finalize the document that will focus on waterfront revitalization, historic preservation, agriculture/farmland, recreation, community character, economic vitality, housing diversity/affordability, land use/regulatory effectiveness, and climate adaptation/resilience. The town board intends to hold a second public hearing before formally adopting the plan. In the meantime, officials welcome any public comments. "Much like the comprehensive plan, the community involvement in updating the zoning law is paramount to the law's success," Hughes said. "I think it's very important, and I welcome their involvement." For more information or updates, visit essexnewyork.com.

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Essex receives $100K grant to update zoning law

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